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Topic: okra (Read 9070 times)

its seed ordering time for me. i decided to grow some okra this year hoping that it will sell well. its been a while since i grew any. i remember the flowers being very pretty. anyone have any variety recommendations? and does anyone know if honeybees work okra?

Clemson spineless. Grew well for me. Slow at first, but once it got a foothold it would turn into a small tree with nonstop pods. I always got red itchy arms from picking it. There wasn't much of a market for it here.

We had about 5 okra plants this year. The bees mostly ignore them, but once in a while I'd see one crawling on a bloom. We grew it for our own consumption, not to sell, and 5 plants was enough to do that and put some up for winter. As BenC said, it takes a while for them to get going, but when they do, they go crazy.

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They just love the hot, dry conditions here in Placerville. The hotter, the more they grow. I did not do the planting, so do not have any info on variety. I could get this info for you if you want. Also, never saw the bees on the okra.

Spinless crimson is what i plant. I had 4 acres of it 2 years ago and sold only a couple hundred dollars of it before the market was flooded with it and was not worth picking except for our familys use. bees did not work the flowers but I had 8 acres of squash in the field next to the okra and the bees may have been busy with them.

do you guys have any idea how it would grow here? my husband loves the stuff. i can't stand it, but i'd grow it for him. we are safely above freezing mid march to the end of September, usually into October.

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I am a market gardener...Okra is a rather big seller here in Texas. I have grown most of them (varieties) at one time or another. Last year, I bought some seed (very expensive for Okra) called "Jing Orange". It was brought to USA from China by Baker Creek Seeds (a GREAT co. -you should get their catalog) It was beautiful...even for Okra. More an intense redish orangy/violet (hows THAT for a description?) than orange. It was very productive and not as tall as many get. I do not recall much in the way of spiny growth. Good looking plant too, not rangy like others.To me, it was better than most I have grown over the years. I have seen my bees working Okra now and again. I suspect they might work it only at certain times of the day. I do not think it is a top choice for them.Anyway...want some seed?

Due to head injuries received as a police officer I've long since lost my sense of smell. My granddaughter, last night at dinner, asked me how the Jello tasted, I said, "Red." She thought her grandma had mixed packages of Raspberry and Strawberry Jello. I told her that I use my imagination for how things taste, orange jello could be Mango, Orange, Tangerine, Cantalope, etc. Green Jello could be anything from Lime to Lettuce--didn't think of Okra.

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Hey Steve...there are actually a number of color varieties in Okra...red, burgandy, many shades of green -white too. I have never noticed a big difference in flavor. Pretty much all taste the same (I am putting my finger down my throat right now...wretch, gag...ha ha). Oh, I take that back...I do like it deep fried.

I love okra. A few pods will "wake up" a pot of home made vegetable soup, a pot of fresh butter beans or peas. It is delicious stewed with tomatoes and side of cornbread. Fried, southern or deep? I can, have, and will eat it just boiled.

Sir Stungalot, I would like a few of your seeds.

Steve

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i would like to try your seeds too Sir Stung. Maybe I have some you'd like in exchange? I've got a few heirloom types that I planted last year but don't expect to this year. There are some squash, pumpkins, melons, and maybe tomatoes.

Hey Randy and Steve...drop me an email- I need an address to mail you some seed. Think you guys will like it. Steve, I think I need to re-think Okra, ha ha. You make it almost sound...good.joeseffschmoe@hotmail.com No, my name is not Joe Schmoe lol....it is Tim

Kathy, I am not too sure if your climate is hot enough to grow Okra. I tried to grow it last year and it just plain and simply did not grow well. Well, actually, it did not even grow at all, got about 2 inches tall and that was it. Maybe it might grow if I started some in the greenhouse and set it out in June, like I do with peppers, or grew it in my tomato greenhouse. I love Okra and my Sister when they lived in Salt Lake City in Utah, had the most beautiful Okra plants. We had an unseasonably cool summer last year too, which didn't help things out much with growing, so that may have been another problem. I am going to try again this year, but grow it under cover for sure. Good luck, have a great day, Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

Maybe we need to start a seed swap thread? I don't save my seeds but I could start. I buy lots of wild flower and vegetable seeds every year. I love to try new things in the garden. I grew heirloom tomatoes from seeds last year. Might try again this year. I have some beautiful red amyrilis bulbs that I could share.

Tim, I will be sending you an email shortly. thanks.

Steve

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Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resembalance to the first. - Ronald Reagan

Steve, I think that that was talked about before. Starting a thread would be a good idea, but I bet you wouldn't have enough people overly interested. I think that there are only a few of our forum friends that are totally into propagation of seeds. You know who I mean I am sure, hee, hee. Trading seeds through PMs works too. I have done that. Sending seeds through the mail can get quite costly, that is the only downside to it, but let's check it out and see what happens. Tap, your it!!! You start the thread, hee, hee. Best of the night and a great day tomorrow. Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

We can get okra to grow here in Hoosick Falls, 42.91N latitude. You have to coddle it a bit. Here are some tips.

Start the seeds indoors. They like really warm soil temps. We do ours in the oven using the oven light for heat. We prewarm the beds outdoors and keep them under row cover until they are too big to fit. We harvested enough Okra for at least one good pot of gumbo a month through the whole winter. Not to mention fried okra several times last summer. We tried a northern hardy variety but think that the Louisiana Green Velvet outproduced it and taste better too.

Okra is a super vegetable, chock full of nutrients... really good for you. Too bad more people don't like it.